the year after

The first year anniversary deserves some reflection. Maybe not too long one, as my mind is full of thoughts that even I struggle to keep up with them. However, there are few that I really want to share.
How many times, I have heard that we are changing every 7 years? Or close to this time? First few years we are close to the family, then we are being sculptured by our mates at first school, then we go through rebellious stage and deny everything what we have learnt, whereas with the next steps we are trying to figure out who we are, what we don’t want in our lives and what we really need.
But… someone has said that time is relative to where you are, what you do and who you are waiting for, so it seems that my 7 years recently are much shorter. Having moved out of home while being 18, then coming back for a short while and leaving to the UK at 23 and then starting the Italian dream at 26 has changed me a lot. First years were about finding what I want to do, then developing towards what I want to achieve and now.. it is just on how to find the balance. Balance between myself, friends, work. What I love, like and avoid.

Place I am now in is full of opportunities. I probably haven’t had it so easy with possibilities to travel, to discover and to explore on my own in my previous locations. Of course my Parents have been travelling with me a lot, however, let’s face it… child sees travels differently. Even if I have seen so many places with them, I want to come back there again. To understand it more. In the end it is all about the perspective, and now I guess I have it more clear. Or I want to believe I have matured and grew some taste since then. Italy is a beautiful place. I have written about the beginning of my la dolce vita few months back and I strongly believe that it has its charm. After a while, you also discover some faults, but no one and nothing is perfect, so it is a matter of adjusting yourself to what’s around and focus on things that make you happy, not annoyed or worried.
It is a great take off location. You can go everywhere in Europe within very short time and the amount of weekend trips I have done since I’m here is uncountable! (actually it is fully countable – exactly 20 of them 🙂 ) Doesn’t matter if you are up for a road trip or a flight – both are very easy and I struggle to choose the more convenient one. Even despite my fear of planes.

Not to mention my new country itself. Italy is filled with culture, beautiful landscapes, history. This is an amazing spot for tourists and travelers. When you come here and realize all that, you are just motivated to grab more and more of it. I became very greedy with this. Like I feel, I can’t never get enough and I want to see it all. Maybe that is the reason why I am just a train/flight tickets maniac.
The other side is that I start feeling that no place is my place. Everywhere I choose to go I feel like I belong there and every time I think about places I used to live or live in now, I don’t feel attachment. I clearly remember stating at the beginning of this blog that I will be leaving on at least 3 continents and I really strive for it. Not now, but one day the next move will come.

Another thing that made me grow are people I have met. It took a while, as in order to create real bonds you need time and trust, but despite having real good friends already in different countries, I have found so many interesting people that make me grow and complement me in a way. Some of them taught me how to be myself. Some how to appreciate the world around. Others how to be comfortable with myself.
I may still be failing in some areas, but without my new friends I probably would have been much further compared to where I am now. New people to travel with. To share experiences or just to laugh our asses off. What I missed in the UK was a distance from work. I really love it, but sometimes you need to clear your head. In Italy, somehow this stopped being an issue. Because in a way we have made it to draw a line between work and personal lives and also I am sharing my space between two cities. My home and my friends’ home. Como and Milano. One for being on my own. One for sharing with the special ones.

I used to be more reluctant to travel with people I didn’t particularly know. Now it has gone through complete change. I have realized how interesting, fun and crazy it is to be with completely new, different and adventurous company! Few months ago, I was mainly targeting places to travel on my own. Now, I am convincing people to come with me and I am trying to pass on my love to travelling on them. It seems to work. In the end I do believe each one of us has a hidden traveler inside. However, I am still meeting people who would say that every city is the same, so there is no point of moving around as much. I cut those acquaintance short. It is not that I don’t respect this opinion, but from my experience I already know we won’t get along. I can be fascinated by a little painting on the wall, elder people sitting in the promenade enjoying their afternoon siesta or a great building in the shape that actually doesn’t resemble anything or resembles too much.
Few months ago, I have heard that since I am in Italy, I am much less grumpy. There is something about it and despite having my don’t come close to me mood in the morning, after few hours I am back to normal! In the end I am a night person, and I deserve my moments! 😉

So words that I would consider as meaningful in the past 12 months – friendship, change, travel. I have found my passion, found people who motivate and grew up to finally move on in the direction I was always aiming, just didn’t have balls to get there.

Usually we do cheers for some major occasions – so my toast goes to my best Friend that can always trust me, the Friend who became a mentor and showed a different view at what’s around, the Friend that just tells not to give a fuck and the Friend that is simply always here and there for me – despite the distance or time.